Shelf and similar structure



Sept. 14 1926.

A. CRANSTON SHELF AND SIMILAR smucwnn Filed June 16. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet1 IN [/5 N TOR lfriizur Ghanaian '4 rromvu Sept. 14 1926.

A. CRANSTON SHELF AND SIMILAR STRUCTURE Filed June 16. 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Ti a q IN V15 11/ TOR flfiz'ur Crarza ton Patented Sept.14, 1926.

UNITED STATES ARTHUR GRANSTON, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY.

SHELF AND SIMILAR STRUCTURE.

Application filed June 16, 1925.

My invention relates to shelves and analogous structures, and especiallyto knock down shelves which are very strong and rigid when set up andarranged for use, and

a which may be easily and quickly taken apart, arranged very compactlyfor transportation, and easily and quickly reassembled.

The characteristics, objects and advantages of the invention aresufliciently explained hereafter, in connection with the detaildescription of the accompanying drawings, which show one exemplifyingstructure embodying the invention. This particular embodiment of theinvention is what I call a straight shelf, in distinction from a cornershelf disclosed in a companion application. After considering thepresent embodiment of the invention, skilled persons will understandthat many variations may be made without departing from the invention,and I contemplate the employment of any structures that are properlywithin the scope of the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shelf structure embodying theinvention in one form, certain parts being shown disconnected tofacilitate explanation of the assembly method.

Fig. 2 is a top plan with portions of the shelves broken away.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the backboards or uprights with one endbrace and part of one shelf in position.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the backboards or uprights in juxtaposed positionready for assembly.

Fig. 6 is a section at 6-6, Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a plan of the separated parts in one suitable compactarrangement for transportation.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the same.

The shelf proper may consist of one or a plurality of shelf sections 1,and a corresponding number of uprights or backboards 2 is also usuallyprovided. The shelf and upright members are secured together and theshelf members are supported by substantially triangular braces such as 3and i. While any suitable materials may be employed for the parts, it isusually preferred to make them of a substantially light metal alloy ofwhich duralumin is one example. The use of such material permits theparts to be made of a moderate cross section and of light weight, and atthe same time very Serial No. 37,514.

strong and rigid, and they may be produced economically by casting andespecially by die castmg operations, which practically or entirelyeliminate any machine work on the parts.

The different parts are secured together by lnterfitting devicesconveniently described as tongue and groove formations, arrangedforsliding connection of the parts and eliminating in general anynecessity for additional fastenings such as screws or bolts andtherefore avoiding a common annoyance incldetrsit to the loss of suchsmall fastening par Specifically, in the example shown, the shelfsections 1, have near each end, grooves or channels 5 of T-section toco-operate with tongues or ribs 6 of similar section, formed on theupper members of the braces 3 and 4:. The upright members 2 have similarchannels 7 to co-operate with similar tongues 8 on the rear uprightmembers of the braces. Desirably the grooves 5 in the shelf membersextend from the front edges to a point somewhat removed from the rearedge of the shelf, and the ribs 6 of the braces are similarlydimensioned. This avoids an difiiculty in overlapping of the rear anupper ends respectively, of the brace tongues 6 and 8. Desirably also,the upright member grooves 7 terminate well above the bottom edges ofthe uprights. When two or more shelf sections 1 are to be used in acomplete shelf structure, one or more of the intermediate braces 4c isprovided at its upper and rear members, with two of the tongues 6 andtwo of the tongues 8 respectively, so that these intermediate braces actnot only as braces to support the shelf sections, but also serve toconnect together the shelf and'upright sections in a way which will beobvious in the drawing.

Desirably, the upright or backboard sections have additional bracing orinterlocking means such as the channel 10 in one of the uprights 2, andthe rib 11 on the adjacent end of the other upright, the rib having asubstantially close, detachable fit in the socket or channel and also,one of these members may have a socket such as 12 of substantiallyrectangular outline to cooperate with a tongue or lug 13 on the othermember. These formations aid materially in bracing or connecting theuprights against vertical bending strains andhold them in substantiallystraight alignment,

' connected uprights.

A ver simple provision may be made for supportm the shelf structure onan upright surface such as a wall, this provision consisting in thepresent example of a suitable number of screw holes 15, certain of whichare desirably located near upper edges of the upright members and one ofwhich may desirably be made in the tongue or lug 13. Hooks such as 16may also be provided inany suitable arrangement on the upri hts or onthe under sides of the shelves, t ese parts being suitably bored andtapped to receive the screw shanks of the hooks; or the hooks may becast integral with the uprights.

Evidentl in some cases a single shelf section may e used and there willthen be provided to co-operate with it a single upright 2 and two simplebraces such 'as 3, the type of brace illustrated as 4 being unnecessar It will be suflicient to describe the assembly of a multi-sectionstructure, such as shown in the drawings. The upri hts 2 are placedtogether end to end with t e formations 1011, and 12-13 interfitted inan obvious way. The intermediate brace 4 is then applied by downwardsliding movement to enga e its tongues 8 with adjacent grooves 7 of t euprights, whereupon the uprights are locked together against endwiseseparation. or bending movement in their plane. The end braces 3 arethen inserted 1n a similar way in the end grooves 7 of the The shelfsections are then applie by a forward sliding movement which engages thebrace ribs 6 with the shelf grooves 5. The intermediate brace 4 thusconnects the shelf sections against endwise dis lacement or bending intheir plane, and t e interaction of all the parts prevents any bendingmovement at the shelf and upright intersections in any direction. Theshelf is then placed on a wall or other upright surface and secured inan obvious way by inserting screws through the holes 15, and is thenerfectly secure against any displacement of the parts, since the shelfsections cannot move forward and are prevented from. moving backward byengagement with the wall surface; and there is, of course, no tendencyfor upward displacement of the shelves or braces. The structure when soassembled and mounted on a wall is very strong and rigid and willsupport securely any reasonable weight which may be placed upon theshelves.

The parts may be disconnected easily and rapidly by operationssubstantially t e reverse of those above described and may then beplaced together in various compact ways for convenient. transportation.As shown the shelf and upright sections may be of'closely similardimensions. When the two shelves 'and th'e two upright sections areplaced together with their long edges abutting they therefore occupysubstantially the same area, which ma be a square area, the side ofwhich is no on er than the length of a single shelf or uprig t section.The two p a1rs of sections may then be superposed either in parallelrelation or in crosswise re-,. lation, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, andthe braces may be placed upon the other seetlons in the compactarrangement shown, the two end braces being superposed and occupying thesame vertical space as the intermedlate brace. In another arrangementthe shelf and upright sections ma all be superposed with the braces upont em, and the greatest dimension of the package so formed Will be onlythat of the length of a single shelf or upright section, and the otherdimension will be substantially less-usually only about one-half thelengthwise dimension of the shelf or upri ht section.

The shelf and s1mi ar structures constructed in accordance with theprinciples outlined, and in equivalent ways, are especially valuableunder resent housin condltions, since they admit of ver quic and easyconnection and disconnectlon and mounting in operative positions in anyresidence or apartment, and especially when made of metal arepractically indestructible. Great economy is therefore provided incomparison-with present methods of erectmg wooden shelving which mustgenerally be left in place when the premises are vacated.

I claim:

1. knockdown shelf or similar structure comprising a rear verticalsupporting member, a horizontal shelf member adapted for locationsubstantially at the top of the supportlng member, and brackets toadditionally brace and support the shelf member, the brackets and rearmember having interlockin tongue and groove formations detachab yengaged by downward sliding movement of the brackets, and the bracketsand shelf member having interfitting tongue and groove formationsdetachably engaged by forward sliding movement of the shelf, the shelftongue and groove members having cooperating stops limiting forwardshelf movement, the shelf being securely supported and braced againstdownward displacement and prevented from rearward displacement bengagement with a wall against which t e structure is mounted.

2. A knockdown shelf or similar structure comprising at least twoaligned endwise abutting rear upright members adapted for locationagainst a wall, at least two aligned and endwise abutting shelf membersarranged for location substantially at the top of the rear members, anda plurality of upright brackets, the brackets and rear members havingtongue and groove formations detachabl engaged by vertical slidingmovement of t e brackets, the brackets and shelf members having tongueand groove formations detachably engaged by forward sliding movement ofthe shelf members prevented from rearward displacement by engagementwith a wall against which the structure is mounted, at least oneintermediate bracket being provided with two sets of interlockingmembers whereby the adjacent rear and shelf members are connectedtogether against endwise displacement and the shelf members aresimultaneously supported by said bracket as well as by the others.

3. A. knockdown shelf or similar structure comprising a rear verticalsupporting memher, a horizontal shelf member adapted for locationsubstantially at the top of the supporting member, and brackets toaddition ally brace and support the shelf member, the brackets and rearmember having interlockin tongue and groove formations detachab yengaged by downward sliding movement of the brackets, and the bracketsand shelf member having interlocking tongue and groove formationsdetachably engaged by forward sliding movement of the shelf, the shelftongue and groove members having cooperating stops limiting forwardshelf movement, the shelf being securely supported and braced againstdownward displacement and prevented from rearward displacement byengagement with a wall against which the structure is mounted, the partsbeing constructed and dimensioned so that.

when knocked down they may be superposed and packed in a spacesubstantially less than the length of the erected structure. Signed atAtlantic City in the county of Atlantic and State of New Jersey this12th day of June A. D. 1925.

ARTHUR GRANSTON.

